Chad Daybell

Chad Guy Daybell was born in 1968 and was raised in Utah in a religious family. He attended Brigham Young University, where he studied journalism and later became involved in publishing. Daybell eventually established a small publishing business and wrote books focused on religious themes, visions, the afterlife and apocalyptic events.

Daybell married Tammy Douglas in 1990. The couple eventually had five children and settled in eastern Idaho, where Daybell worked in cemetery-related employment and continued writing and publishing books. He developed a growing interest in beliefs concerning near-death experiences, visions, spirits and the end of the world.

Daybell's criminal case centred on the deaths of three people: his wife, Tammy Daybell, and Lori Vallow Daybell's children, JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan. Tammy died at the couple's home in Rexburg, Idaho, on October 19, 2019. Her death was initially attributed to natural causes, but investigators later exhumed her body and determined that she had been killed.

JJ, seven, and Tylee, 16, disappeared in September 2019 while living with Vallow Daybell in Rexburg. Their whereabouts became the subject of a major investigation after relatives and authorities could not verify claims that the children were elsewhere. In June 2020, investigators searching Daybell's property discovered the remains of both children buried on the property.

Prosecutors argued that Daybell and Vallow Daybell had developed a belief system in which people could become possessed by dark spirits and be classified as "zombies." They alleged that these beliefs provided a justification for killing people who stood between the couple and their plans.

Daybell's convictions established his involvement in the murders through a combination of physical evidence, communications, witness testimony and evidence concerning his relationship with Vallow Daybell. Prosecutors portrayed him as an active participant in a shared belief system that classified certain people as spiritually dangerous.

The bodies of JJ and Tylee were concealed on Daybell's property, with investigators finding evidence that the children had been buried separately. Tammy's death occurred shortly before Daybell married Vallow Daybell, and prosecutors argued that the timing of the deaths demonstrated a common motive connected to the couple's relationship.

Daybell did not personally carry out every act alleged by prosecutors, but the jury found him responsible for all three murders and the associated conspiracy charges.

Daybell came under increasing scrutiny after JJ and Tylee were reported missing and investigators began examining his connection to Vallow Daybell. Vallow Daybell and Daybell had left Idaho and travelled to Hawaii, where authorities eventually located them.

On June 9, 2020, investigators searching Daybell's Rexburg property discovered human remains. The remains were identified as those of JJ and Tylee, and Daybell was arrested shortly afterwards.

He was initially charged with concealing evidence and later faced a much broader indictment alleging the murders of Tammy, JJ and Tylee. Daybell remained in custody while the investigation and extensive pretrial litigation continued.

Daybell's trial began in April 2024 in Ada County, Idaho. Prosecutors presented evidence concerning the deaths of Tammy, JJ and Tylee, the discovery of the children's remains on Daybell's property and his relationship with Vallow Daybell.

The prosecution also presented evidence concerning Daybell's religious writings, communications and the terminology surrounding "zombies" and dark spirits. Investigators used DNA, forensic evidence and other physical evidence recovered from the Daybell property as part of the case.

On May 30, 2024, the jury convicted Daybell of three counts of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and insurance fraud. The jury subsequently determined that the death penalty was appropriate. Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador confirmed that the jury had convicted Daybell of murdering Tammy Daybell, JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan and sentenced him to death.

Daybell remains incarcerated on Idaho's death row at Idaho Maximum Security Institution. The Idaho Department of Correction currently lists his active sentence for first-degree murder as death, with no release to supervision.

The case attracted international attention because Daybell's relationship with Lori Vallow Daybell developed while both were married to other people and culminated in their marriage shortly after Tammy Daybell's death. Investigators subsequently connected the couple to the disappearances and deaths of JJ and Tylee.

Daybell's religious writings and beliefs became an important part of the prosecution's narrative. He had previously written about spiritual concepts and the end of the world, while prosecutors argued that his increasingly elaborate belief system was used to label people as spiritually dangerous. The prosecution contended that these beliefs were intertwined with the couple's desire to remove obstacles to their relationship.

Daybell's case was tried separately from Vallow Daybell's. Vallow Daybell was convicted in Idaho in 2023 and received three consecutive life sentences without parole. Daybell's own trial resulted in a death sentence, making him one of the prisoners currently held on Idaho's death row. The Idaho Department of Correction identifies him as being in custody at Idaho Maximum Security Institution.

Sources:

• Idaho Attorney General's Office
• Idaho Department of Correction
• Idaho State Police
• Fremont County Prosecutor's Office
• Madison County Prosecutor's Office
• Ada County Prosecutor's Office
• Rexburg Police Department
• FBI
• Associated Press
• CBS News
• NBC News
• ABC News
• The Washington Post
• East Idaho News
• Court TV